from DeVore Fidelity,

Sonus Faber,
Urban Fidelity
Jack Whites
Paramount
Records Project
and Its Not-So-Simple
Simplicity Tonearm
from Arcam, Coffman,
Jadis, Lindell, Pass Labs
Online authority: www.stereophile.com
The dCS Vivaldi System
JANUARY 2014
PLUS:
HI-FI RISING: CROWDFUNDING HIGH-END AUDIO
CAN IT REALLY WORK? See pages 3 & 45
70 January 2014
Q
stereophile.com
EQUI PMENT REPORT
companys theme are the four Vivaldi components, launched
at the end of 2012 for a total price of $108,496.
The Scarlattis improved on the Elgar Pluses in cosmetics
and, more important, technical and sonic performance that,
in the opinion of many, put it at the top of the digital audio
heap. It will be obvious to those familiar with the Scarlatti
stack that the Vivaldis take visual appearance and tnnish
M
ore than a decade ago, Data Conversion Systems,
aka dCS, released the Elgar Plus DAC, Purcell
upsampler, and Verdi SACD/CD transport,
for a total price of $34,000. In 2009 came
the Scarlattia stack of four components for $80,000, also
available individually (see my August 2009 review at http://
tinyurl.com/mljelle ). The latest variation on the English
MICHAEL FREMER
dCS Vivaldi
DIGITAL PLAYBACK SYSTEM
dCS Vivaldi Upsampling
SACD/CD transport Drawer-
loading, dual-laser SACD/
CD transport with remote
control, PCM outputs, and
encrypted DSD or DXD
datastream output via dual
AES/EBU (XLR). Digital
outputs: 3 AES/EBU (XLR), 1
BNC, 1 RCA coaxial S/PDIF;
SDIF2, BNC. Word clock In/
Out, SUC multipin connector
for RS-232 control. Includes
BNC and AES/EBU cables.
Dimensions 17.5" (444mm)
W by 7.8" (198mm) H by
17.2" (437mm) D. Weight:
51.1 lbs (23.2kg).
Serial Number of
Unit Reviewed
VTT0S21C11D1S079650
(listening),
VTT0S21B21D1S019174
(measuring).
Price $39,999.
dCS Vivaldi DAC D/A
processor with 5-bit, 2.822 or
3.07MS/s oversampled, dCS-
patented Ring DAC topology,
switchable reconstruction
lters, remote control, integral
digital volume and balance
controls. Inputs: 4 AES/EBU
XLR, 2 RCA, 1 BNC, 1 TosLink,
SDIF-2 on BNC, USB-B, 3 word
clock on BNC . Digital output:
word-clock BNC. Analog
outputs: XLR balanced,
RCA single-ended. Sample
rates: 32, 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96,
176.4, 192kHz on single-wire
interfaces and SDIF-2/word-
clock input, auto-selected;
88.2, 96, 176.4, 192kHz, DSD,
DXD, LPCM at 258.2 and
384kHz on dual AES interface,
auto-selected. Frequency
responses (lter 1): Fs=32kHz,
10Hz15kHz, +0.1/0.5dB;
Fs=44.1 or 48kHz, 10Hz
20kHz, 0.1dB; Fs=88.2
or 96kHz, 10Hz20kHz,
0.1dB; Fs=176.4 or 192kHz,
10Hz20kHz, 0.1dB; DSD,
10Hz20kHz, 0.1dB.
Dimensions 17.5" (444mm)
W by 6" (152mm) H by 17.2"
(437mm) D. Weight: 35.65
lbs (16.2kg).
Serial Number of
Unit Reviewed
VDC0S21C1C11D1S109659
(listening),
VDC0S21B11D1S019202
(measuring).
Price $34,999.
dCS Vivaldi Master Clock
Class 1, temperature-
compensated master clock
with dual VCXO. Clock
frequencies: 44.1, 48, 88.2,
96, 176.4, 192kHz. Clock
accuracy: better than 1ppm
when shipped (guaranteed
for 12 months from shipping
date), typically 0.1ppm when
shipped and stabilized. Word-
clock outputs: 8 in two groups
of 4, independently buffered,
on 75 ohm BNC connectors.
Reference input: external
reference input on one 75
ohm BNC connector. Accepts
word-clock or AC-coupled
signals at 32, 44.1, 48, 88.2,
or 96kHz; or 1, 5, or 10MHz.
Lock range: 300ppm. Start-
up time: typically 1 minute to
rated accuracy.
Dimensions 17.5" (444mm)
W by 5" (127mm) H by 17.2"
(437mm) D. Weight: 29.9 lbs
(13.6kg).
Serial Number of
Unit Reviewed
VCK0S21B21D1S019183
(listening),
VCK0S21B21D1019119
(measuring).
Price $13,499.
dCS Vivaldi Upsampler
Digital-to-digital processor
with switchable upsampling
lters (4), upsamples input
data to high-sample-rate PCM
(up to 384kHz), DSD (1-bit
data at 2.822MHz). Inputs:
asynchronous USB1, USB2.0,
S/PDIF RCA (x2), S/PDIF
BNC, S/PDIF TosLink optical,
AES3/EBU, word-clock In/Out,
SDIF-2 BNC. Outputs: AES/
EBU (x2) congurable as single
or dual link, S/PDIF RCA, S/
PDIF BNC, SDIF-2 BNC.
Dimensions 17.5" (444mm)
W by 5 (127mm) H by 17.2"
(437mm) D. Weight: 31.3 lbs
(14.2kg).
Serial Number of
Unit Reviewed Not
found (listening),
VUP0S21B31D1019124
(measuring).
Price $19,999.
All Four Finishes
Silver or Black.
System Price $108,496.
Approximate number of
dealers: 14. Warranty: 3
years, parts & labor, from
date originally shipped from
dCS, to original owner only.
Manufacturer dCS (Data
Conversion Systems),
Ltd., Unit 1, Buckingway
Business Park, Anderson
Road, Swavesey, Cambridge
CB24 4AE, England, UK. US
distributor: dCS America, PO
Box 544, 3057 Nutley Street,
Fairfax, VA 22031. Tel: (617)
314-9296. www.dcsltd.co.uk .
SPECIFICATIONS
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January 2014 71
Fig.1 dCS Vivaldi DAC, Filter 1, 44.1kHz impulse
response (4ms time window).
Fig.2 dCS Vivaldi DAC, Filter 4, 44.1kHz impulse
response (4ms time window).
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DCS VIVALDI DAC D/A PROCESSOR, UPSAMPLER, MASTER CLOCK, AND SACD/CD TRANSPORT
F
or logistical reasons, I
measured different samples
of the four Vivaldi compo-
nentstransport, upsampler,
master clock, D/A processorfrom
those auditioned by Michael Fremer.
(The serial numbers can be found in the
Specications sidebar.) I examined
the dCS Vivaldi systems electrical
performance with Stereophile s loan
sample of the top-of-the-line Audio
Precision SYS2722 system (see www.
ap.com and the January 2008 As We
See It, http://tinyurl.com/4ffpve4 ).
Both the Vivaldi DACs and the Vivaldi
Upsamplers performance via their USB
ports was tested using my 2012-vintage
Apple MacBook Pro.
Looking rst at the Vivaldi SACD/CD
transport, this offered almost the best
error correction/concealment I have
encountered. (The best is the Parasound
Halo CD 1, which I reviewed in the December
2013 issue.) The Vivaldi played every
track on the Pierre Verany Digital Test CD
without glitches or muting until it reached
track 38, which has 4mm gaps in the data
spiral. The Transport recognized the pre-
emphasis ag both on pressed CDs and
on the CD-R with which the Parasound
Halo CD 1 player had problems.
Turning to the Vivaldi DAC, Apples
USB Prober utility identied it as having
the Product String dCS Vivaldi DAC
USB Audio 2 from Data Conversion
Systems Ltd; the Vivaldi Upsampler
was identied as dCS Vivaldi UPS
Audio Out. USB Prober conrmed that
both products USB inputs operated in
the optimal isochronous asynchronous
mode. The AES/EBU input locked suc-
cessfully to data having sample rates
up to 192kHz, with the dual-AES/EBU
input handling DSD data and PCM data
with sample rates up to 384kHz.
The maximum level at 1kHz from both
balanced and single-ended outputs was
2.035V with the level set to 2V, 6.013V
with it set to 6V. Both sets of outputs
preserved absolute polarity ( ie , were
non-inverting), with the musical-note
icon on the Settings screen right-side up.
(The XLRs are wired with pin 2 hot.) The
balanced output impedance was very
low, at 2.3 ohms from 20Hz to 20kHz,
including the series resistance of 6 of
cable. The single-ended outputs had a
higher source impedance, at a uniform 51
ohms, which is still low in absolute terms.
The Vivaldi DAC offers a choice
of six reconstruction lters for data
want to add a music server, since the Upsampler includes an
Ethernet connection for network streaming via UPnP. (dCS
makes available a free iPad app to work with UPnP-based
servers.) While both the DAC
and the Upsampler have an asyn-
chronous USB-B port, to allow
them to accept audio data from
a computer, the Upsampler also
has a USB-A port, for use with
USB ash drives or i-Devices.
The USB-B ports can operate in
Type 1 mode, with data sampled
up to 96kHz, or in Type 2 mode,
which allows DSD and PCM
up to 192kHz to be streamed to
the Vivaldis. Type 1 operation
doesnt require a driver program
for Windows PCs or Macs; Type
2 operation doesnt need a driver
with Mac OS10.6.3 or later; dCS
supplies a driver program for
Type2 operation with Windows
XP and Windows 7. (They say
that it will work with Windows
8 in Windows 7 compatibility
mode.) The dCS driver is not compatible with ASIO-type
drivers, which will need to be uninstalled.
In other words, while continuing to offer a transport option
for those with large collections of CDs and SACDs, dCS has
congured the Vivaldi for the discless futurealready the present
to new heights. These sculpted boxes in a silver matte nish,
each with a unique, owing wave pattern machined into its
front panel, are pleasing to the eye and silky-smooth to the
touch. Who said engineering geeks arent sensual?
The four components are: the Vivaldi DAC ($34,999,
slightly more than the original Elgar-Purcell-Verdi combo),
which can decode every digital resolution, from MP3 to
DSD to DXD (a 24-bit/358.8kHz PCM format used pri-
marily for editing DSD les) and everything in between;
the Vivaldi Upsampler ($19,999), which can upconvert the
lowest-resolution MP3 data to 24/384, DSD, and DXD or
any format in between; the Vivaldi Master Clock ($13,499),
containing two groups of four clock outputs, which can be
independently set; and the Vivaldi Transport ($39,999), a
smooth, quiet, quick-booting SACD/CD drive based on
TEACs Esoteric VRDS Neo disc mechanism, considered
by many to be the worlds nest.
1
This is controlled by
dCS-designed signal-processing electronics, and can also
upsample CDs to DSD or DXD.
The total price is an astronomical $108,496, though of
course you could start with just the DAC and save $73,497.
Considering the cost of some preampliers, audiophiles with
only a single source component can drive their power amplier
directly with the Vivaldi DAC, which has a digital-domain
volume control, and save the cost of a standalone preamp.
Most audiophiles prepared to drop $35k on a DAC will
head straight for the full stack, I feel, especially those who
MEASUREMENTS
While
continuing
to oer a
transport
option
for those
with large
collections
of CDs and
SACDs, dCS
has congured
the Vivaldi for
the discless
future.
1 Why should a disc drive be so expensive? dCS claims that they pay about $5000
for each raw TEAC transport; if you do the usual vefold parts cost to retail
math, thats $25,000then you have to add the chassis, the electronics, and the rest.
Fig.3 dCS Vivaldi DAC, Filter 5, 44.1kHz impulse
response (4ms time window).
Fig.4 dCS Vivaldi DAC, Filter 1, wideband spectrum
of white noise at 4dBFS (left channel magenta, right
red) and 19.1kHz tone at 0dBFS (left cyan, right blue),
with data sampled at 44.1kHz (10dB/vertical div.).
Fig.5 dCS Vivaldi DAC, Filter 4, wideband spectrum
of white noise at 4dBFS (left channel magenta, right
red) and 19.1kHz tone at 0dBFS (left cyan, right blue),
with data sampled at 44.1kHz (10dB/vertical div.).
The Ring DACs array of latches can be seen in the center of the bottom board,
with the two large FPGA chips to their left.
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DCS VIVALDI DAC D/A PROCESSOR, UPSAMPLER, MASTER CLOCK, AND SACD/CD TRANSPORT
measurements, continued
chip with more than twice the capacity of the previous two
chips combined. These FPGAs are programmed from ash
memory each time the DAC powers up, so that performance
improvements, or new Ring DAC operating modes, can be
added with a rmware update.
The Vivaldi DACs analog circuitry has been redesigned
for reduced DC offset, lower noise, and less crosstalk. The
completely dual-mono architecture is claimed to improve left/
for some, particularly those who never got into SACDs
though it will still be some time before downloadable DSD
content catches up with whats already available on disc.
Major Changes Inside
Compared with the older products, the structural rigidity of
the Vivaldi components cases has been upgraded, including
top plates of thick aluminum into which are machined asym-
metrical cavities that contain damping pads. The combination
is said to reduce vibrational modes. But the Vivaldi DACs
insides have been given far more than a cosmetic makeover.
While dCSs products have all been based on the companys
proprietary Ring DAC technology, the Vivaldi is based on a
complete revision of the Ring DAC concept. The earlier Ring
DAC used quad latches (a circuit element that can be instanta-
neously ipped between two stable states) to select current
sources based on metal-lm resistors. The new Ring DAC
design still includes high-speed latches and metal-lm resistors,
but instead uses individual latch chips said to eliminate be-
tween-latch, on-chip crosstalk resulting in lower jitter. The total
number of latches has been increased to make better use of
the Ring DACs available dynamic range. A pair of high-speed,
software-updatable eld-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs)
replaces the Scarlattis mapping ROM chips, which allows in-
dividual errors in the DACs current sources to be randomized,
reducing the level of distortion and spuriae by 3dB.
The Vivaldi DACs and Upsamplers digital-processing
platform, which runs dCS-developed and -maintained
code that forms the core of the entire operating system, has
been completely upgraded, including use of a single FPGA
with sample rates of 44.1, 48, 176.4,
and 192kHz, but only four for data
sampled at 88.2 and 96kHz. Fig.1 shows
the impulse response of Filter 1 with
44.1kHz data. The symmetrical ringing
either side of the pulse maps the lter
coefcients and reveals this lter to be
a conventional linear-phase type. Filters
24 have increasingly shorter linear-
phase impulse responses (g.2 show
Filter 4s impulse response), while Filter
5 (g.3) is a minimum-phase type, with
all the ringing following the pulse. Filter
6 (not shown) has similar time-domain
behavior to Filter 1.
Fig.4 shows a wideband spectral
analysis of the Vivaldi DACs output with
it set to Filter 1 and decoding 44.1kHz
data representing a 19.1kHz tone at
0dBFS (cyan and blue traces) and white
noise at 4dBFS (magenta and red).
1
The
noise signal reveals that the lter rapidly
rolls off the output above the audioband,
reaching the noise oor at the Nyquist
frequency, or half the sample rate. There
is no trace of the image of the 19.1kHz
tone at 25kHz (44.119.1kHz) above the
16-bit noise oor, and the second and
third harmonics of the 19.1kHz tone lie
at almost 110dBFS (0.0003%). Filters
24 offer increasingly slower rolloffs
above the audioband, with Filter 4 (g.5)
allowing the 25kHz image to lie just 10dB
below the level of the 19.1kHz tone and
lling the audioband with spurious tones.
It should be noted, however, that despite
this slow rolloff, Filter 4 still doesnt offer
the time-domainoptimized behavior of,
for example, the famed Wadia Digimaster
lter. Although it is a minimum-phase
type, the Vivaldi DACs Filter 5 (g.6)
offers identical image suppression to
1 My thanks to Jrgen Reis of MBL for suggesting
this means of displaying the performance of a
DACs reconstruction lter.
Fig.6 dCS Vivaldi DAC, Filter 5, wideband spectrum
of white noise at 4dBFS (left channel magenta,
right red) and 19.1kHz tone at 0dBFS (left cyan,
right blue), with data sampled at 44.1kHz (10dB/
vertical div.).
Fig.7 dCS Vivaldi DAC, Filter 1, frequency response
at 12dBFS into 100k ohms with data sampled at:
44.1kHz (left channel green, right gray), 96kHz (left
cyan, right magenta), 192kHz (left blue, right red)
(0.5dB/vertical div.).
Fig.8 dCS Vivaldi DAC, Filter 5, frequency response
at 12dBFS into 100k ohms with data sampled at:
44.1kHz (left channel cyan, right magenta), 192kHz
(left blue, right red) (0.5dB/vertical div.).
The Vivaldi Transports rear panel adds SPDIF-2 BNC jacks to its three AES/EBU
outputs, as well as Word Clock I/O.
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measurements, continued
Setup and Use
Setting up the Vivaldi system can be complicated, but when
you spend almost $110,000 on a digital playback system, you
can expect plenty of dealer help. The multi-cable system,
featuring ve AES/EBU cablestwo each to connect the
Transport and Upsampler to the DAC and a fth to connect
the Transport to the Upsamplerve word-clock connections,
and four AC cords, is a cable manufacturers dream.
But once everything has been set up for you, and the routing
for each input and the many screen icons have been explained,
youre on your own. Believe me, until you gure it all out
and memorize the icons meanings, youll feel lonely .
Your options are then seemingly endless. For example, you can
route the transport directly to the DAC via the dual AES/EBU
connections, which will send DSD signals in their native format
and, should you choose, upsample CDs to DSD or DXDor
you can send CD signals to the DAC via S/PDIF or AES/EBU
and play them in their native resolutionor send CD data to the
Upsampler via the single AES/EBU connection and, by select-
ing the Upsamplers AES input, play them back at 24/44.1 (the
Upsampler automatically outputs at 24 bits) or you can upsample
the CD data there to high-resolution PCM or DSD.
The Vivaldi DAC has six lter options for PCM, with four
more for DSD playback. dCS says that with PCM data, the rst
four lters give different tradeoffs between ultrasonic image re-
jection and impulse response. Filter 1 gives the most rejection,
Filters 24 offer progressively relaxed image rejection and bet-
ter time-domain performance. For data with sample rates from
176.4kHz to 384kHz, two extra lters are available, one with a
Gaussian character, the other asymmetrical with almost no pre-
right crosstalk by 15dB at 20kHz. New, higher-output mains
transformers in all of the Vivaldi components run cooler than
in earlier dCS products, and are mounted on specially damped
subchassis to eliminate vibrations. Even the transport has been
given a serious mechanical upgrade, which is claimed to reduce
the level of acoustic noise by a signicant 10dB.
The Vivaldi stacks exterior elegance sacrices some user-
friendliness: the small buttons and their even smaller labels
arent backlit, so if you like doing your digital business in the
dark, or even in moderate light, keep a ashlight handy.
The non-backlit remote control suffers a similar problem.
While its a heavy, nicely made piece of aluminum nished
pleasingly for the hand, its brushed-aluminum surface
makes it difcult to read the labels just below the unmarked
buttons unless its angled just so to reect any available light.
But when you do that, the reected glare makes the buttons
that are marked hard to read.
that of the linear-phase Filter 1, as does
Filter 6.
Fig.7 shows the frequency response
of Filter 1, with sample rates of 44.1, 96,
and 192kHz. With each rate, the output is
at to just below the Nyquist frequency,
with then a rapid rolloff. Filters 24 offer
increasingly slower rolloffs with each
sample rate (not shown), while Filter 5
offers a restricted bandwidth with 192kHz
data, reaching 6dB at 40kHz (g.8, blue
and red traces). Filter 6 extends the band-
width with 192kHz data, the 6dB point
now lying at 55kHz (not shown).
When the Vivaldi Upsampler is used
to transcode 24-bit PCM data to DSD or
the Vivaldi Transport feeds encrypted
DSD data to it, the Vivaldi DAC offers a
choice of four low-pass lters. Fig.9 re-
veals that the effect of these lters is to
roll off the ultrasonic noise that results
from the DSD formats noise shaping,
with Filter 1 offering minimal rolloff
(blue and red traces) and Filter 4, which
dCS doesnt recommend for music play-
back, offering the most rolloff (green
and gray). The traces in this graph were
taken with original 44.1kHz data. Inter-
estingly, when I used the Upsampler to
transcode 24-bit/88.2kHz PCM data
with the Vivaldi DAC set to DSD Filter
1, the traces were identical to the blue
and red traces in g.9. This suggests
that while DSD encoding preserves the
audioband resolution of 24-bit PCM, it
actually has less resolution at ultrasonic
frequencies.
The Vivaldi DACs channel separation
was superb, at >125dB in both directions
below 1kHz (not shown), and still 118dB
at 20kHz. The very low noise oor with
24-bit data can be seen in g.10, with
Fig.9 dCS Vivaldi DAC, spectrum of DSD-encoded
1kHz sinewave, DC100kHz, at 20dBFS into 100k
ohms with DSD Filter 1 (left channel blue, right
red), DSD Filter2 (left cyan, right magenta), DSD
Filter 3 (left cyan, right blue), DSD Filter 4 (left
green, right gray) (linear frequency scale).
Fig.10 dCS Vivaldi DAC, spectrum of 1kHz sin-
ewave, DC1kHz, at 0dBFS into 100k ohms (left
channel blue, right red; linear frequency scale).
Fig.11 dCS Vivaldi DAC, spectrum with noise and
spuriae of dithered 1kHz tone at 90dBFS with: 16-
bit data (left channel cyan, right magenta), 24-bit
data (left blue, right red) (20dB/vertical div.).
The Vivaldi DACs rear panel offers every digital input other than Ethernet.
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DCS VIVALDI DAC D/A PROCESSOR, UPSAMPLER, MASTER CLOCK, AND SACD/CD TRANSPORT
measurements, continued
to the Vivaldi DAC via S/
PDIF. John Quick therefore
provided a pre-lled server
running dCSs proprietary
UPnP software.
I now had at my disposal
my collection of SACDs,
more than 3000 CDs, and
24/96 downloads on the Me-
ridian, and a large collection
of DSD les on a hard drive
(also provided by Quick) that
connected to my MacBook Air, in turn connected via USB to
the Vivaldi Upsampler and the iPad-controlled server. I had
the digital power!
The Digital Promise Finally Fullled?
Before doing any listening, I wondered how the Vivaldis
reproduction of PCM recordings would compare with that
of MSBs Signature DAC IV with Diamond power supply
($43,325), which Id borrowed along with their Platinum
Data CD IV transport. (See Jon Iversons review at http://
tinyurl.com/dyctoth .) The MSB combo had produced the
best digital sound Id heard. It was clearly a leap forward from
the dCS Scarlattis playback of CD and hi-rez PCM record-
ings, particularly in terms of overall openness and three-
dimensional, widescreen sound, minus the usual associated
brightness and brittle transients.
With the MSB and Scarlatti systems no longer in my system,
I couldnt perform direct comparisons. However, based on my
ringing. With CD data, Filter
5 is also an asymmetrical type,
Filter 6 a very sharp linear-
phase type with pre-ringing.
The DSD lters progressively
roll off the formats ultrasonic
noise, in case there are system
synergy issues.
dCS recommends Filter
5 for CD playback, Filter
2 for 48, 88.2, and 96kHz-
sampled data, Filter 6 for
176.4kHz data and above, and Filter 1 for DSD data. For this
review, I stuck with Filter 1, which had been recommended
by dCS distributor John Quick.
When the Vivaldi Upsampler and DAC are fed audio data
via USB or the Upsampler via Ethernet, the incoming sample
rate can be anything from 44.1kHz to 192kHz or even DSD.
As the Vivaldi Master Clock has two independent groups of
word-clock outputs, you can set one to 44.1 and the other
to 48kHz; that way, youre less likely to get silence instead
of music because the clock frequency isnt a multiple of the
incoming bitstreams frequency. When they are connected
by the dual-AES/EBU link, both the Vivaldi Upsampler and
DAC correctly switch between the clocks for 44.1kHz and its
multiples (including DSD) and 48kHz and its multiples.
For use with a UPnP server and control point, youll need
to set the Upsampler to its Network input. However, it turned
out that my Meridian Digital Music Server was incompatible
with the Vivaldi Upsampler, and could only be connected
all power-supplyrelated spuriae at or
below 135dB and the random noise
components mainly stemming from the
analyzers A/D converter. Astonishing!
With a dithered 1kHz tone at 90dBFS,
increasing the bit depth from 16 (g.11,
cyan and magenta traces) to 24 (blue
and red) dropped the noise oor by
24dB, indicating that the Vivaldi DAC
has at least 20-bit resolution, which is
the state of the art. Linearity error with
24-bit data was nonexistent down to
below 120dBFS, which, in conjunction
with the low noise, allows it to perfectly
reproduce an undithered 16-bit tone
at exactly 90.31dBFS (g.12). The
waveform is perfectly symmetrical,
the three DC voltage levels described
by the data are perfectly resolved, and
the time-symmetrical ringing from the
linear-phase Filter 1 is clearly evident
at the LSB transitions, even at this very
low signal level. With Filter 5, the ringing
clearly changes to the expected non
time-symmetrical type (not shown),
and with 24-bit undithered data, the re-
sult is a superbly well-dened sinewave
(not shown).
As good as the Vivaldi DACs
measured performance is in the digital
domain, it is equally good in the analog
domain. Fig.13 shows the output spec-
trum as the DAC drives a full-scale 50Hz
tone at 6V into 600 ohms. The only dis-
tortion harmonics visible are the third, at
130dB (0.00003%) in both channels,
and the second, at 126dB (0.00005%)
in the left channel (blue trace). Inter-
modulation distortion was also vanish-
Fig.12 dCS Vivaldi DAC, Filter 1, waveform of un-
dithered 1kHz sinewave at 90.31dBFS, 16-bit data
(left channel blue, right red).
Fig.13 dCS Vivaldi DAC, 6V output setting, spec-
trum of 50Hz sinewave, DC1kHz, at 0dBFS into
600 ohms (left channel blue, right red; linear fre-
quency scale).
Fig.14 dCS Vivaldi DAC, Filter 1, HF intermodula-
tion spectrum, DC30kHz, 19+20kHz at 0dBFS
into 100k ohms (left channel blue, right red; linear
frequency scale).
The Vivaldi Upsamplers rear panel includes an Ethernet jack for use with uPnP-
based servers.
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measurements, continued
and 2) Those who trumpet CDs transparency and claim that
higher resolution is inaudible are being guided by mathematical
proofnot their ears, which for some reason they fail to trust.
I like to rst evaluate a DAC using poor recordings. Im
not sure why, but I nd that the more poorly recorded and/
or mastered the recording, the more it spotlights a DACs
sonic character. Soft-sounding, poorly resolving DACs cover
up recording aws; harder, etchier, more analytical DACs
make awed recordings the audio equivalents of turning up a
video displays Sharpness control.
The Bands Live at the Academy of Music 1971: The Rock of Ages
Concerts (3 CDs, 1 DVD, Capitol UME 6 02537375271) features
a new Bob Clearmountain mix of the original multitrack tapes,
said to have been supervised by Robbie Robertson. It sounds
nothing like either Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs SACD or vinyl
reissues, sourced from the original mix. Both the SACD and
LPs sound relatively warm, with plenty of hall sound, along
with the inevitable leakage from the stage monitors. They also
emphasize bass and kick drums, at the expense of percussion
and guitar transients and treble detail. You can comfortably turn
up either the SACD or the LP to live performance levels.
The remix offers far more detail, particularly in the upper
octaves. Its all about the guitars and cymbals, and its bright ,
hard, and at, with little sense of depth. Its threadbare in
the bassyou can barely hear the kick drum, let alone feel
it. The sonic balance reminds me of one of those thin, wiry,
1980s-era, coke-inuenced mixes that for about half a decade
ruined the sound of recorded music.
This new edition doesnt sound terrible at low levels, but if
you try to play it at live SPLs, your ears will demand that you
aural memory, the Vivaldis immediately sounded more open
and less reserved than the Scarlattis, which, while free of obvious
digital artifacts, seemed to achieve that by hiding them in the folds
of its warmish sound. Yet while sounding more open, transparent,
and spacious, the Vivaldis still retained the Scarlattis warmth and
transient delicacy, minus their tendency to softness. The Vivaldis
overall sound was as nondigital, transparent, andespeciallyas
three-dimensional and spacious as Ive experienced with digital.
They also produced the most convincing musical textures Ive yet
heard from digital, 100% free of cardboardy or metallic artifacts.
No single overarching, obvious sonic character permeated
every discs or every sources sound: no bright overlay or
etchy transient ngerprint that, once heard (usually quickly)
in lesser gear, just cant be ignored.
Which is not to say, Come back, Compact Discall is
forgiven! With hi-rez recordings at my ngertips, including
some for which I also had the CDs, two things were clear: 1)
While the best-engineered and -produced CDs can sound
pretty good, CD sound pales next to SACD or hi-rez PCM;
ingly low, although, as expected from the
white noise/19.1kHz spectra discussed
earlier, the rejection of the ultrasonic
images resulting from an equal mix of
19 and 20kHz tones sampled at 44.1kHz
depended on the reconstruction lter
used. Filter 1 (g.14) gave almost total
suppression, Filter 4 the least suppres-
sion (g.15), with again a lot of spuriae
dumped back into the audioband.
It came as no surprise that the
Vivaldi DAC, fed directly or via the
Upsampler, offered superb suppres-
sion of jitter. With a 16-bit version of
the Miller-Dunn J-Test data fed to the
DACs AES/EBU input, all that could
be seen were the odd-order harmonics
of the LSB-level tone, all at the correct
level (not shown). With 24-bit J-Test
data, a single pair of signal-related side-
bands at 229Hz is visible at 142dB
(g.16), though low-level sideband pairs
of unknown origin can also be seen at
71 and 142Hz. With 24-bit data fed
to the Upsampler and transcoded to
DSD before being sent to the Vivaldi
DAC, the central spectral peak that
represents the 11.025kHz tone in g.16
widened very slightly at its base and
reduced the level of the sidebands
at 229Hz (not shown). With 24-bit
data fed to the DAC via USB from my
MacBook Pro (g.17), there was a little
less spectral spreading of the 11.025kHz
tone than with AES/EBU, and the
signal-related sidebands have dropped
even further. The sidebands at 142Hz
are still evident, however. Again, con-
necting the MacBooks USB output to the
Upsampler and transcoding to DSD before
feeding the data to the DAC completely
eliminated the sidebands at 229Hz
and broadened the central spike a little,
but reintroduced the low-level sideband
pair at 71Hz (not shown).
-140
+0
-120
-100
-80
-60
-40
-20
d
B
r
A
5k 30k 10k 15k 20k 25k
Hz
Fig.15 dCS Vivaldi DAC, Filter 4, HF intermodula-
tion spectrum, DC30kHz, 19+20kHz at 0dBFS
into 100k ohms (left channel blue, right red; linear
frequency scale).
Fig.16 dCS Vivaldi DAC, high-resolution jitter spec-
trum of analog output signal, 11.025kHz at 6dBFS,
sampled at 44.1kHz with LSB toggled at 229Hz:
24-bit data via AES/EBU from AP SYS2722 (left
channel blue, right red). Center frequency of trace,
11.025kHz; frequency range, 3.5kHz.
Fig.17 dCS Vivaldi DAC, high-resolution jitter
spectrum of analog output signal, 11.025kHz at
6dBFS, sampled at 44.1kHz with LSB toggled at
229Hz: 24-bit data via USB from MacBook Pro (left
channel blue, right red). Center frequency of trace,
11.025kHz; frequency range, 3.5kHz.
The Vivaldi Master Clock offers eight Word Clock outputs arranged in two inde-
pendent groups of four.
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measurements, continued
on electric piano, lead singer Colin Blunstone, and the rest
created a uniquely sophisticated, melodic pop sound with
tight three-part harmonies propelled by a rolling, owing
rhythm section. Tell Her No, Shes Not There, You Make
Me Feel So Good, and, of course, Time of the Season are
the highlights, but many of the lesser-known tracks are also
worthwhile. Originally released on UK Decca vinyl, the
recording has a suave, delicate, almost buttery quality, with
everything equally bathed in generous reverb that softens
and blunts percussive transients and rounds the vocal images.
Like the tuneful music, the sound never offends, but can
draw you in and produce a state of hypnotic suspension.
Despite the heavy amounts of reverb overall, the guitars
and some of the background vocals are closely miked and
presented relatively dry. With those instruments and voices,
the effect produces a startling jump-from-the-speaker im-
mediacy and in-the-room three-dimensionality.
I know these recordings very well; for some lame reason,
I long ago tried to analyze what made this record so unique-
turn it down. Through the Vivaldis it sounded ultraclean,
fast, and appropriately sharp, with not a hint of DAC-infused
grain, glare, or sheen. The Vivaldis transient speed and re-
solve were impressive, even with a thin, bright CDwhich
lesser DACs coarsen, adding their own hash and glare.
Pop in the MoFi SACD and you get a warmth and a delicacy
that make it hard to believe its the same DAC, never mind the
same recording. Unfortunately, the instant juxtaposition makes
the MoFi sound smothered under a pillow, and the new version
coming from an iPhone speaker. Not the Vivaldis fault, of
course, but to their credit as a neutral decoder.
Feel free to turn the volume upway upwith good
SACDs, and dont worry that youll be assaulted by etchy
digital artifacts. Im not a huge Billy Joel fan, but Say Good-
bye to Hollywood, from his Turnstiles , recorded at Ultrasonic
Studios in Hempstead, Long Island (SACD/CD, Columbia/
Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab UDSACD 2063), sounded re-
markably analog-like, producing a generous sense of studio
space and deep bass on the Phil Spectorpatented kick-drum
rhythm and percussive transients, which were cleanly and
sharply drawn, without unnatural etch. Joels voice sounds
naturally smooth, round, and solidly three-dimensional. The
Vivaldis bass performance was the best Ive heard from a
DAC: deep, rich, and particularly well textured.
I could play the Vivaldis at whisper-low levels. Unlike many
digital front-ends, which fall apart and get murky at low SPLs,
and get hard and etchy at high ones, the Vivaldis maintained
their graceful, delicate, yet solid sound at volumes high and low.
The Zombies Greatest Hits has always been one of my
SACD benchmarks (Audio Fidelity AFZ 001). Rod Argent
I repeated the USB-input jitter tests,
clocking both the Upsampler and the
DAC from the Vivaldi Clock. Whether
it was the DAC fed 44.1kHz J-Test data
via USB or fed 44.1kHz data upsampled
to DSD by the Upsampler, I didnt nd
any signicant measured differences
from the DAC and Upsamplers internal
clocks. But from my auditioning, I did
nd the Vivaldi Clock to add a small but
noticeable improvement in sound quality,
as I had done in my March 2005 review
of the dCS Verona Clock.
Overall, the dCS Vivaldi measured su-
perbly well. When I measured the compa-
nys earlier four-box system, the Scarlatti,
in 2009 ( http://tinyurl.com/4j8t9fw ), I
concluded that it offered state-of-the-
art measured performance. The Vivaldi
improves on the Scarlattis performance
in almost every way. Wow!
Then I took a listen to the complete
Vivaldi system. (See my Pass Labs re-
view elsewhere in this issue for a list of
the ancillary components used.) Again
wow! Without any doubt, this was the
best digital playback I have experienced.
While there are digital processors that
offer measured performance almost as
good as the Vivaldithe Electrocom-
paniet ECD-2, for example, and MSBs
Diamond DAC IV or even NADs M51
there was an increased sense of ease to
the Vivaldis sound quality, particularly
when the Upsampler transcoded the
data to DSD, that proved addictive. In
this respect, it was even better than
the MSB it replaced in my system. For a
third time: Wow! John Atkinson
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DCS VIVALDI DAC D/A PROCESSOR, UPSAMPLER, MASTER CLOCK, AND SACD/CD TRANSPORT
drives, but for the most part the iPad interface worked
well. A server adds more value to the Vivaldi stack, though
whether or not a $110,000 digital playback system can be
called a value in the rst place is arguable, to say the least.
Getz/Gilberto (24/96, Verve/HDtracks) sounded as delicate,
liquid, highly resolved, and analog-like as digital has ever
sounded in my room, rivaling in many ways the 45rpm reissue
(2 LPs, Verve/Analogue Productions AVRJ 8432-45). The
24/176.4 les of the Rolling Stones 12 x 5 (ABKCO/
HDtracks) sounded spectacular in the true stereo mix, but
the SACD produced greater transparency and liquidity.
Compared to the Vivaldis, the other digital systems Ive
had here, the MSB excepted, all sounded spatially constricted,
two-dimensional, texturally dry, and mechanically processed.
Even the MSB sounded somewhat dry and techno in comparison.
With other digital systems, I couldnt wait to return to vinyl
playback. By contrast, I ran the Vivaldis directly into my
darTZeel ampliers for the last week of the review auditioning,
and though I couldnt play any vinyl that week, I didnt miss it.
Conclusions
The dCS Vivaldi components produced a texturally supple,
delicate, musically involving sound lled with color and life.
Their soundstaging and imaging capabilities surpass what I
thought was possible from digital.
Some may nd the Vivaldis complexity dauntingbut if
youre willing to put in some time, youll be able to operate
it comfortably. Depending on your needs, you might be able
to get away with just the DAC or the DAC-and-clock com-
bo, which, directly driving my ampliers, produced high-
resolution digital sound that I found easy to warm up to.
The Vivaldis comprise the best nondigital-sounding digital
system Ive heard. Q
ly attractive to my ear, so capable of producing a feeling of
easy-owing serenity. Ive played the SACD/CD on every
SACD and CD player Ive reviewed and/or owned. What
set apart the dCS Vivaldis rendering of it? The speed, reso-
lution, size, and timing of the vocal sibilants, for one thing;
and, for another, how clearly I could hear the processing as
a separate event that didnt etch and exaggerate the size or
length of the actual sibilants. The Zombies familiar tunes
were presented with a depth-of-eld three-dimensionality,
delicacy of attack, generosity of sustain, precision of decay,
and transparency I never thought Id hear from digital. The
launch of the reverb around Blunstones voice had never
before been so cleanly resolved, or timed so effectively.
On to the sonic spectaculars: I played the 24/176.4 les
from the HRx Sampler 2011 (DVD-R, Reference Recordings
HR-2011 HRx) on a Mac laptop running Pure Music and the
signal sent to the Vivaldi DACs USB port. This produced
the deepest, most robust, most controlled bass; the widest dy-
namic swings; and the most enormous sense of space Ive yet
experienced with the darTZeel NHB 458 monoblocks driv-
ing the Wilson Audio Specialties XLF speakers. Erik Saties
Gymnopedie 1, with Eiji Oue conducting the Minnesota Or-
chestra, produced a wide, deep, spacious sound, yet despite all
the space, the instrumental focus was precisely and delicately
drawn. In the Finale of Waltons Crown Imperial , played at ridic-
ulous SPLs, the rumbling organs textural suppleness and bass
weight, and the overall sound, would have had even the most
fanatical vinyl die-hards reveling in every aspect of the music.
The Vivaldis presented the 24/96 le of Neil Youngs Live
at Massey Hall 1971 with abundant transparency, spaciousness,
and organic wholesomeness, but when I switched to the AAA
vinyl (two LPs, Reprise/Classic 43328-1), the LP added life to
what was, in all other ways, a truly superb, pristine sound.
On the other hand, Doug
MacLeods superb Theres a
Time (DVD-R, Reference
HR-130 HRx), originally
recorded on the Skywalker
Ranch Soundstage at
24/176.4 by Keith O. John-
son, sounded very similar
from both digital and LP, the
digital original getting the
nod through the Vivaldi for
its somewhat more robust
bass and wider macrodynamicsbut with a good analog
front end, the differences were fewer than those who think
we like vinyl for its euphonic colorations would care to admit.
The vinyl cant sound better than the original 24/176.4 le
it was mastered from, unless the vinyl mastering engineers
DAC betters what you have at home.
dCS Server iPad software
Using the iPad UPnP app Id downloaded from dCS with a
router and the AVA Media Zara Premium server connected
to the dCS Vivaldi Upsampler via Ethernet, you can have
instant access, with touchscreen convenience, to an entire
music library, with les of resolutions up to 24/192. The
software also lets you switch the Upsampler to its USB-A
port to access and play les from thumb drives.
The iPad apps user interface is neither as elegant nor as
intuitive as the Meridian Digital Music Servers, but it does
allow playback of les with higher resolution. Some nasty
digital noise occasionally marred playback from thumb
The dCS Vivaldi
components
comprise the
best nondigital-
sounding digital
system Ive
heard.
Analog Sources Continuum Audio Labs Caliburn turntable,
Cobra tonearm, Castellon stand; Kuzma 4Point tonearm;
Lyra Atlas, Miyajima Labs Zero mono, Ortofon Anna cartridges.
Digital Sources BPT-modied Alesis Masterlink hard-disk
recorder; Meridian Digital Media System, AVA Media Zara
Premium music servers; Pure Music software.
Preamplication Ypsilon MC-10 & MC-16 step-up transformers;
Ypsilon VPS-100 phono preamplier; darTZeel NHB-18ns
preamplier.
Power Ampliers darTZeel NHB 458 monoblocks.
Loudspeakers Wilson Audio Specialties Alexandria XLF.
Cables Digital: AudioQuest CAT 700 Carbon & Diamond RJ/E
Ethernet; Fono Acustica USB; Snake River S/PDIF; Wireworld
Eclipse Gold Starlight AES/EBU, clock, S/PDIF. Interconnect:
EnKlein Aeros, Stealth Sakra & Indra, TARA Labs Zero Gold,
Teresonic Clarison Gold, Wireworld Platinum Eclipse 7, ZenSati
Seraphim. Speaker: EnKlein Aeros, TARA Labs Omega Gold ,
Teresonic Clarison Gold. AC: Shunyata Research ZiTron
Anaconda & ZiTron Alpha Digital.
Accessories Shunyata Research Hydra Triton & Hydra Typhon
power conditioners (2 sets); Oyaide AC wall box & receptacles;
ASC Tube Traps; RPG BAD, Skyline, Abffusor panels; Symposium
Rollerblocks & Ultra platform; HRS Signature SXR, Finite Elemente
Pagode stands; Audiodharma Cable Cooker; Furutech & Stein
Audio DeMagnetizers, Furutech deStat; Loricraft PRC4 Deluxe,
Audio Desk record-cleaning machines. Michael Fremer
ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT